Invasion USA is an American motion picture, directed by Alfred Green and released in 1952. It stars Gerald Mohr as Vince Potter, Dan O’Herlihy as Mr Ohman and Peggie Castle as Carla Sanford. As its title suggests, Invasion USA depicts a fictional invasion of the United States by a communist power, unnamed but clearly intended to suggest the Soviet Union. It opens with news broadcasts describing enemy flights over American territory and increasing communist activity in Europe. The film’s main characters meet at a New York bar and get into an informal debate about politics and global tensions. They are opposed to communism but dislike paying taxes. One character comments on the hypocrisy of people who “want a stronger America” but do not want to contribute themselves.
The communist invasion begins in Alaska. Enemy paratroopers land and capture civilian airports, while military bases and shipyards are attacked with nuclear weapons. The US president condemns this attack, calling it “another day of infamy”, and deploys American bombers to retaliate against enemy targets. Meanwhile, enemy ground forces launch a full-scale invasion of the north-eastern United States. The battle scenes and nuclear attacks are shown through stock footage, announced by newsreaders and discussed by the characters in the bar. They eventually disperse and return home to contribute to the war effort. Communist continue their southward and westward advance, dropping an atomic bomb on Montana and conventional bombs on San Francisco, then landing paratroopers in California. As the war progresses, enemy agents come out of the woodwork to take over American society.
Watched today, Invasion USA seems paranoid and crazed – not to mention poorly written and acted. But in 1952, with the United States still in the feverish grip of McCarthyism, the film struck a chord with cinema-goers, particularly younger audiences. Its message is abundantly clear: the United States must increase its defence spending or submit to an invasion. The US senators who voted down defence increases are themselves killed toward the end of the film. Invasion USA was made, somewhat unsurprisingly, with the cooperation of the US military, which supplied the film’s ample amounts of stock footage. It remains one of the earliest and most hysterical examples of Cold War invasion propaganda. Full copies of the movie are available on Youtube and other video sharing sites.
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